Soul in Blue
by whitesakura
Summary: Seto reflects on his life as he ponders the secret to Yugi’s success in anticipation of their next duel.


Disclaimer: I do not own YugiOh, or its characters. 

Summary: Seto reflects on his life as he ponders the secret to Yugi's success in anticipation of their next duel.

Notes: There was trouble with formatting this fic. Italics couldn't be used, but please be aware that there are flashbacks into the past. Please enjoy!

Soul in Blue

Seto Kaiba leaned over the edge of his swivel chair and peered out his window. The sun was setting on the distant horizon. He closed his eyes, feeling the last of its orange warmth. His laptop sat idle on the desk, along with a half-assembled prototype of a new dueling device. Its blueprints had been neatly rolled up and resided near the left edge of the desk. As a counterbalance, a miniature Blue Eyes White Dragon sat on the right. The dragon was beautiful - pale marble with polished azure stones, giving the beast a cold gaze. 

The phone beeped.

Seto Kaiba turned and pressed one of the lower buttons. His secretary's voice breezed through the electronic contraption with the easy professional tones of experience. "Mr. Kaiba, Murasaki Corporations is willing to open negotiations. They are waiting on line two to discuss a meeting time." 

"Tell them to call back later." He was staring at the Blue Eyes.

"Mr. Kaiba?" Her voice was flustered. The deal had been at the top of the CEO's itinerary for the last two weeks. 

"I will not repeat myself."

"Yes…I understand sir!" The line disconnected with a click. 

Carefully, Seto took the paperweight in his hands, running his fingers along the smooth ridge of the dragon's back. He settled the creature in his palm, and lifted it until it was at eye-level.

"Tell me, what is the weakness that you guard so well, but that he has uncovered so effortlessly?"

The dragon stared back. Its eyes a mirror blue, impassive, and indifferent. 

He was home again, if such an empty place could be called that. Seto shrugged out of his trenchcoat. The last time he truly had one was when he and Mokuba had been very young. A small house in the suburbs, a raggedy lawn that was their personal forest, a tire swing that could shoot them to the moon with enough rotation and imagination. 

And there had been Father.  

Someone to hug them, laugh at them, protect them and keep them children as all children were supposed to be. 

But Father had died, and Gozaburo had become his teacher. 

"Hello, Nii-sama!" 

"Mokuba," Seto was surprised. He did not expect the black-haired bundle of energy to be greeting him as he toed off his shoes. 

"Forgot to tell you, the club ended early today. I've got no homework either. Let's go to the arcade or something!"

Seto pondered this for a while.

"Show me your report card."

Mokuba sagged. His brother was too detailed a person. Each fact and memory was stored away with such efficiency that Mokuba was surprised that it had taken his Nii-sama several minutes to recall the fact that it was the end of the fall semester. Mokuba waited nervously as his brother's eyes swept through the marks and checks.  Suddenly a hand was in his hair, ruffling the strands in an affectionate gesture with an obliging smile to match.

Mokuba beamed in response, "I'll get my coat." Seto watched as his little brother raced away. 

************

Father was dead. 

Young Seto wrapped his arm around Mokuba who cried, knowing something was wrong although he was still too young to understand. Seto's hold tightened. He may have lost Father, but Mokuba would never be without one, because now, Seto would be both Father and Brother. 

"Shh, Mokuba… everything will be alright."

But no one ever told Seto that.

************

Instead of driving, Seto opted to walk to the arcade in the mild nighttime weather. Mokuba strutted proudly behind him with his head held high. A few passerbys whispered to themselves.

"Isn't that Kaiba Corp.'s CEO?"

"Only sixteen, and already a billionaire. I envy him."

It seemed impossible, but Mokuba actually puffed up more. The little boy smirked. He turned around and hollered at the gossipers.

"THAT'S MY BROTHER! NO ONE'S BETTER THAN HIM!"

Seto tugged at Mokuba's hand. 

"HE'S UNBEATABLE!"

"Let's go Mokuba," his eyes were as warm as arctic frost.

*************

Crimson-purple eyes narrowed in determination and confidence. Its owner's eyes were full of passion, "I play Exodia!" Seto Kaiba knew that he had never said anything with such fire. The duel monster towered over the CEO, and cast him into shadow. His Blue Eyes roared in protest as it was blinded by light. It crumbled into dust, like shards of cracked ice, defeated.

*************

The whip itched beneath his chin. A few drops of Seto's sweat trickled onto it as he worked furiously over his books. Gozaburo's hand tightened and the whip dug deeper into Seto's skin. 

"Learn fast, Seto. Learn well."

Seto choked as the man drew closer. His fingers flew along the paper. If he stumbled just a little bit…he bent his head down, trying not to look into Gozaburo's eyes…it would not be alright. 

*************

"I'm sorry, Nii-sama."

"What for?"

"For making you angry on the street," Mokuba's eyes were fixed on the arcade screen, avoiding his brother's eyes. That was one of the first thing Seto had taught Mokuba at the orphanage. 

*************

"It'll be alright Mokuba. But we must never show them any weaknesses," Seto smiled as he handed Mokuba his broken toy. The other boys at the orphanage had been picking on his brother and taking his belongings. In each instance, Seto had intervened. "Don't let them see your eyes. Father said that's where the soul shines through. If they don't see it, they won't know how much you're hurting. They won't be able to gain an advantage over you." 

Mokuba nodded solemnly, taking the object from his brother's bruised hands. 

*************

Mokuba's fingers fumbled nervously on the buttons as he played. His head hung a little as he said his apology. Seto glanced out of the corner of his eye, "It's fine. I've just been having a bad day."

"Really?" Mokuba fingers paused but his eyes did not leave the screen.

"Yeah." 

The gray of Mokuba's eyes shifted. 

"What do you say to going home and ordering pizza to stuff ourselves silly with?"

"YAY! YOU ARE SO THE BEST BROTHER EVER!"

They smiled at each other as their gazes finally met.

*************

Yami no Yugi glared at his opponent. It was impossible, how could he win against the Blue Eyes White Dragon? Seto Kaiba's face was full of hardened joy; his eyes alight with cold rapture. Then, that little boy who had been shouting so enthusiastically from the sidelines tripped over his own feet and began to fall…

*************

"Failure is not an option, Seto!" Gozaburo's hand clutched around Seto's collar as he lifted the boy up from the floor. "Winning is everything, do you understand? You must be unbeatable!" 

Seto twisted futilely in his grasp. 

Don't let him see your eyes.

Seto trembled and closed them, trying to calm himself. He felt something warm like fire dying within him…leaving his body cold and numb.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, boy!"

A hand snapped out to slap him. 

Seto Kaiba's eyes opened and they were the most startling shade. Light. Focused. Cold. Empty. They were the perfect blue of hard gems.

*************

Yami no Yugi eyes widened, and just for a moment, so did Seto Kaiba's. 

"Hey kid, you okay?" Jonouchi inquired. He loosed his grasp on the hood of Mokuba's sweatshirt. It had prevented the boy's descent.

Mokuba glared before he turned around. He cupped his hands around his mouth, "Go Nii-sama!!"

"Hey, don't I even get a thank you?" the ignored Jounouchi flustered.

Yami turned towards his nemesis. Nii-sama?

Seto was staring at his brother, and as Yami looked, he caught something…a tenderness that he thought his opponent wasn't capable of. Something, not so frigid in the man's expression. Yami straightened himself with determination, and drew his card. His words were full of vindication as he placed it down on the field.

"I play Exodia!"

*************

"Nii-sama, when are you going to play Yugi again?" Mokuba asked his brother after he burped. Both of them were back home, sprawled out over the couch. An empty pizza box lay on the nearby coffee table.  

"What?"

"I know you can beat him…I just know it, Seto!"

"Well…I was planning on holding a tournament. It's going to be called Battle City," Seto's face glowed.

"Nii-sama, that's a horrible name!"

"It is?"

"It is," Mokuba gazed at his brother.

*************

"How did you discover the Blue Eyes' secrets, Yugi Motou?" Seto Kaiba pondered over this as he set down the statuette and pulled on his coat. He didn't look forward to going back to his empty mansion, but maybe, just maybe, Mokuba would be back from school early.

*************

Mokuba's frown was earnest, but the gray of his eyes danced merrily, betraying him.  The CEO of Kaiba Corporation held back a chuckle, "Too bad, I'm calling it Battle City anyway!"

"Niiii~sama!" 

The whine rang out, and the other's laughter finally manifested. It covered the room like warm red covering a canvas. 

"I'm serious, Seto! Stop laughing!"

The End

Thanks for reading. This was my first attempt at a YugiOh fic, and it went through quite a few drafts. Please tell me what you think of it by leaving a **review**. ^_^


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